Vigor of Twelve is a play off of the fact that Jesus had twelve disciples. It is a name that helps stress an importance on discipleship. This blog is specifically geared for younger people and mature Christians who don't mind a fresh, bold, and blunt approach to faith. Comments welcome, let's begin the discussion!

Saturday, October 27, 2012

2 Timothy 3:1

Paul
tells Timothy that there will be difficulties in the “last days.”

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

The
Biblical idea of the “last days” is an intriguing one. Many people read those words to imply an “end
times” or “rapture” mentality. In other
words, they naturally assume that Paul is talking about the last few days,
months, or years before Christ returns.
While this is possible, keep in mind that Paul wrote this letter as a
help to Timothy, who lived over 1,900 years ago. If Paul was genuinely speaking about only the
last few years before Christ returns, then Paul missed the mark quite
badly!

What
is more likely is that when Paul uses the term “last days” he is referring to a
time period in history. To put it
simply, the world began with creation.
Then, there were the “first days,” which would be the days from creation
until Christ. Then there were the days
of Christ, when God brought salvation to the world. Now we are in the “last days,” which are the
days between Christ’s first and second coming.
The “last days” will be followed by judgment. I don’t believe Paul is speaking of a small
time when he writes to Timothy but rather the whole time between Christ’s
comings.

How
does our understanding of the words “last days” change the way we interpret
this passage? What is the danger that
comes by thinking of this passage as only applying to the final
days/months/years right before Jesus Christ appears a second time?

Second Thought:

Paul
says that there will be difficulty. For
this thought, I’d like to speak about physical difficulty. We have known for a long time that people
enjoy physically persecuting Christians.
Christian kids get bullied when they go to school and portray their
faith. Christian adults are thrown into
prison all over the world. Some
Christians are even killed on account of their faith. It is not too much to think that Paul is
thinking physically when he speaks of difficulties to come.

What
kind of physical persecution have you experienced in this life? What kind of physical persecution have you
heard about? Are there any kinds of
physical persecutions that you don’t think that you could endure?

Third Thought:

It
could also be that Paul is speaking about emotional/mental/spiritual persecutions. We have all heard about the science/religion
debates – where some scientists seem to make it their goal to persecute the spiritual/emotional/mental
process of faith with us. It has been
long known that academic institutions are one of the greatest places of
religious persecution simply because academic institutions are based on the
model of free thought (which is not necessarily a bad thing, mind you). The world is quite good at providing “entertainments”
to distract us from the rigors of a proper faith life. Thus, it is also possible to think that Paul
can be speaking of this kind of persecution when he talks about difficulties in
the last days.

What
kind of spiritual/mental/emotional persecutions do you experience? What kind of persecutions have you heard
others talk about? What are the easiest
and most difficult spiritual/mental/emotional difficulties for you to endure?